Dispatch from Crame No. 484:Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Statement on Death Threats Against Priests

3/13/19

It's as clear as day: Duterte is accountable for the death threats currently terrorizing our priests. With his vitriolic attacks against the Church and its clergy, no amount of twisted explanation nor buck passing from the clown spokesperson Panelo could excuse the "resident evil" in Malacañang.

Our religious leaders, like the human rights defenders, earned the ire of Duterte simply because they are standing up for the very basic Christian tenet of upholding the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person. Duterte cannot allow this for this runs counter to his centerpiece strategy of governance - his murderous War on Drugs.

However, Duterte can no longer deny the declining appeal of his drug war which only "succeeded" in killing at least 27,000 poor and hapless Filipinos, while syndicates continue to smuggle and trade billions worth of illegal drugs. He himself admitted that from 3 to 4 million, the number of drug addicts shot up to 7 to 8 million.

Every word unmasking Duterte's fake war, especially coming from the pulpit, is a blow to his already shattered ego and reminds him that he is an utter failure and a criminal against humanity.

In more than two years in office, Duterte has already caused so much pain, agony and infamy. And now, he is undermining the very foundation of our beliefs. Dare touch the priests and Duterte will know how the blood of martyrs can ignite the flame in the hearts of the faithful and the Filipino people.